


Tangent

by Iniysa



Category: In a Heartbeat
Genre: Cave, EMS, Earthquakes, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-09-03
Updated: 2002-09-03
Packaged: 2017-11-26 19:27:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/653627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iniysa/pseuds/Iniysa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A earthquake hit Kingsport and Jamie is trapped in a small cave, where he's running out of air.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tangent

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own In A Heartbeat. I am making no money from this short story.

Tangent  
By: Lauren Freeman

I looked around my surroundings, I am trapped in a small, very dark cave, the air seems to be getting thinner, it probably was. My mind starts to wonder, how did I get myself in to this mess? I was just trying to get a little peace and quiet, some time away from the menacing pressures of life. I should of just stayed in bed. My head is throbbing I probably have a concussion. I know my leg is broken, I am an EMT, I have seen broken legs before, and mine's bad. I mean how can a bone stick out of ones body and not be bad. My stomach churned the last time I saw a compound fracture as bad as mine, now all I want to do is throw up. I try to take slow calming breaths; don't want to run out of air to quick. 

I have been down here for exactly 10 hours now; it's amazing I did not run out of air a long time ago. My friends should be looking for me by now, I said I would only be gone for 2 hours, in time for my next shift, and I told Val where I was going. A year back, Val's father had a heart attack, he's fine now, but she was really depressed at the time, so I decided to bring her to my hideaway. In the woods about a 30-minute walk, 10-minute drive by motorcycle, there is a small cave. I found it when I first moved here 7 years ago. I was in an exploring mood. I never thought this place of refuge would be the place where I might die. I did not count on an earthquake, I had just gotten up and was about to start heading back, when it hit. 

I was suddenly no longer on my feet, my body went one way my right leg went another, I herd a horrible snap and pain shot up my spine. Before I could scream however my head slammed into the wall of the cave and I fell into oblivion. When I woke, all I saw was pitch black. I tried to lift my head but the pain was to much to bare, so I put my head back down. A horrible pain was coming from my right leg; and for a minute I could not remember what had transpired. I quickly reached for my backpack, which held my first aid kit; Tyler, Hank and Val, make me carry, I am very grateful for it, as well as my I grab my flashlight. I slowly sit up, trying not to bring up the little contents I have eaten today, and switch on the flashlight. I see two flashlights in my hand...yep definitely a concussion. In the back of my mind, my EMT training tells me not to go back to sleep, if I do I may never wake up. The minute that thought went through my mind, I was suddenly very tired. It's like when you have a rash on your hands, your doctor gives you medicine to put on it and tells you, that once the medicine is on, you will not be able to touch your face. You say okay, and put on the medicine, right away, your face starts to itch! The back of your mind tells you, 'the only reason your face itches is because you can't touch it'! 

I switched on my flashlight and looked at the entrance, not ready to face my leg yet. The entrance is totally blocked. Then a voice in my head says 'your bleeding, you need to stop the bleeding.' Once again, my EMT skills pop up don't you just love them? I looked at my leg for the first time, oh...I seriously thought I was going to puke all over myself, the thought of the smell and mess that would cause stopped me however. I quickly grabbed my first aid pack, and took out the things I would need to clean my leg up. Within 20 minutes my leg was as cleaned up as it was going to be until I got rescued, or died, whichever came first. I managed to get the bleeding controlled down to a very low flow. It stopped completely within the hour. Still the amount of blood loss made all my warning bells ring. I started watching my watch, waiting for someone...anyone to come and help me out here. About five hours into the game, I set my watch to beep at every hour, then through my watch into my backpack, along with my first aid kit. I got board quick, the back of my mind said that was a good thing, then my mothers words came back to me...

"Being board is good for you." 

Being board is boring! It had been 6 hours and I found myself doing my homework! After I had finished with that, I started doing pages for upcoming homework assignments. I had done two weeks worth of schoolwork when I got board with it too, and threw it all back into my backpack. By then it had been 8 hours. I got out my latest book, shhh...don't tell anyone I like to read, it will mess up my image. I got out my book and started to read. An hour later my flashlight went out. I guess that's what I get for leaving it on for 9 hours straight. Of course the fact that I have never changed the battery or light bulb in it since I bought it two years ago, probably did not help either. 'Mental note: Keep a extra flashlight, batteries, and light bulbs in my backpack.' I put my flashlight and book into my backpack. I am trying to keep it clean so I can just get out of hear when I am rescued, and I don't have to worry about getting everything together. 

So for an hour now, I have just sat hear against the cold wall of the cave. Cold, it's very cold, the air...I am trying not to fall asleep, but my eyes keep closing, it is getting tougher to keep them open. If I fall asleep now there is a good chance I will just suffocate in my sleep. Part of me tells me that, that's better then suffocating while I am awake. But if I am rescued, I might slip into a coma, and my friends would be mad at me. So I am going to try to hold on a little longer...maybe an hour more. The hour passes quietly; it's now been 11 hours. My eyes will not stay open any longer, and I am about to fall asleep when I heard something. At first I thought it was wishful thinking, but then I hear it again. I can't quite make it out but it's more then I have herd in the past eleven hours, so a small bit of hope strikes me. Now the sound is clearer. A voice!

"Jamie!" 

Yes!! I try to yell back but nothing comes out of my mouth. I realize I have not said a word in the past eleven hours. I try again, this time a small whisper comes out. I keep trying until I am talking loudly.

"Help!" I said loudly.

"Jamie? Are you in there?" 

Val? That sounds like Val!

"Jamie! If your in there answer us!" 

Alex? What is he doing here, I better answer.

"I am in here!" I manage to yell. My throat is hurting now. I am going to be rescued! I am going to get food. WATER! Oh I can't wait until that first breath of good air! Not this poisoned air I am breathing now. 

"Jamie! Are you hurt, can you tell us your situation? We are working to get you out now." I hear Hank yell through the rocks. 

"Okay, I have sustained a compound fracture to the right leg, I am pretty sure I have a concussion, and the air in hear is getting really thin!" To prove my point I suddenly start coughing. Great. 

"Okay, don't try to move or help us from your end, we should have you out in a minute! Oh and don't go to sleep!" Alex yelled.

"No problem about the moving thing...but the sleep thing is getting kind of hard to do." I yell back, once again I start coughing. By yelling I am using up a lot of my precious life supporting oxygen. I am going to try to keep my talking to a bare minimum until I can get fresh air. 

"Jamie, I want you to keep talking! Hank! Get a back board ready!" Alex yelled.

"Already done." Hank said back. 

"Jamie?" Alex yelled again.

"I am losing oxygen rapidly in here I can't keep yelling! What took you so long?" I say before starting to cough again, this time I have trouble stopping.

"The earthquake knocked down and injured a lot of people, and we had to run the calls before they would allow us to go search for you. I am glad you at least told Val where you were going! We never would have found you other wise."

The air is suddenly none existent, I find my self struggling to breath, gasping for any breath I can muster. Blackness, more so then the darkness of the cave, starts to cloud over my eyes. My last thought is...'I'm not going to make it...so close...'

I wake up to the sound of beeping. Beeping? My alarm does not sound like that, then my sense of smell kicks in, the smell of medicine and antiseptic fills my nostrils, I am lying on a nice warm bed, I am in a hospital. Maybe I should open my eyes. Oh but oblivion sounds so good...no, I need to open my eyes. I slowly open them, the light makes me quickly close them again. I slowly open my eyes again, this time my eyes seem to be able to handle the light. Why must they always put lights right above a person's head? I mean that's just mean. I look around my room. There is another bed next to mine. It is neatly made, with my sleeping Mom on top of it. The TV is on a hockey game. The volume is muted; I love hockey games so I turned the sound on quietly. I am careful not to move my left hand, which has an IV placed in it. My right hand gets tangled in all the wires placed everywhere to keep taps of my body functions, you know like weather my heart is beating and stuff...important things like that. So, I am reaching across my bed to turn up the volume, when my hang gets caught in the wires, well I accidentally pull a wire off my chest and all sorts of alarms start to go off...opps. Suddenly my mom jumps out of bed, Alex and a whole team of doctors and nurses with all sorts of machines comes charging in. I can't help but smile.

"Opps." Was all I could get out of my very dry throat. The doctors and nurses smile and glare at me all at once. One of the Nurses comes over to me and replaces the sensor. That nurse stays and so does one of the doctors and Alex and my mom. 

"Now Jamie, one big scare is enough for the week!" Alex said with a smile. 

"Honey, how are you feeling?" My mom asked.

"...Dry..." Was all I could say. The Nurse seemed to know what I was talking about because she left and came back with some water and a straw.

"Now take small sips." The nurse commanded. I followed her orders. 

"When we finally got to you, you had stopped breathing completely. We could not get you breathing back by mask and ended up having to intubate you. You crashed three times on the way to the hospital, I swear scared 10 years off my life!" Alex told me.

"When I got the call from your friends that they had taken you to the hospital, and that your were not looking to good, I almost had a heart attack!" My mom added on. They were not making me feel any better.

"Sorry" I told them, truly I was, I never meant to worry them like that. 

"This is not your fault!" The Doctor told me, glaring at Alex and my mom. When you were brought in it was touch and go for awhile. You had a slight concussion, and a sever compound fracture. We had to get you stabilized before we could send you to surgery. Which went very well by the way! Eventually you should be able to get full use out of your leg." The Doctor said with a smile, I smiled back. I found my self very sleepy again, and as I was quickly slipping into a peaceful sleep, I couldn't help but think, 'I never did get to watch the hockey game...I wonder who's winning?'


End file.
